Dakota crowns 5

After beating some of the best wrestlers in the state in Class 2A and 3A at the Dvorak Tournament, nothing in 1A seems tough for two-time state champ Josh Alber. Not even the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the state.

After beating some of the best wrestlers in the state in Class 2A and 3A at the Dvorak Tournament, nothing in 1A seems tough for two-time state champ Josh Alber. Not even the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the state.

The Dakota junior opened with two first-period pins, then scored a 15-0 technical fall in 4:56 Saturday over No. 2 Jose Abitua of Stillman Valley to win the Oregon Sectional.

“The hard thing is being prepared every time, no matter who you wrestle,” Alber (42-0 at 120 pounds) said. “Dan Gable got beat. Some of the best have been beat. I just can’t allow an upset.”

Alber can’t even allow a full match.

“I am out there for pins, but tech falls are the next-best thing,” he said. “I don’t want to go a full match. I always want to get a pin or a tech.”

Dakota’s J.J. Wolfe wanted Zach Hartman.

“I didn’t care who else I wrestled; I just wanted to wrestle him,” Wolfe said.

Hartman had pinned Wolfe (40-6) in a cross-face cradle the last time they met. They didn’t meet at regionals, where West Carroll’s Hartman lost to Stillman Valley’s Andy Abitua, but they got a rematch Saturday when Hartman beat Abitua 11-7 in the 132-pound semifinals.

Wolfe then got everything he wanted — until the last 30 seconds. He was comfortably ahead 5-0 when Hartman caught him in a cradle again.

“I thought, ‘Oh, rats.’ I knew I had to get to his hands and just fight,” Wolfe said. “I know that’s all he does is cradle, cradle, cradle. I just let up for a little bit, and that’s when he got it. But I was going to do whatever I had to to fight. There was no way he was going to get it again.”

Hartman got only two back points and Wolfe hung on to win 6-2.

“That kid is tough with the cradle,” Dakota coach Pete Alber said.

No. 1 state-ranked Dakota dominated the sectional. The Indians led all teams with five finalists, and all five won. Carver James edges Mercer County’s Tristen Finch 2-1 to win at a bracket that included the top three 138-pounders in the state. Brandon Lizer edged Quincy Kalkbrenner of Lena-Winslow/Stockton 3-2 in a matchup of the No. 2 and 3-ranked 145-pounders. And Daniel Zimmerman, Dakota’s other unbeaten Dvorak champ, stretched his record to 43-0 at 220 with a pin in 1:25.

“It’s cool that we had five in the finals, but it’s also cool that we had two in third and fourth place,” Carver said. “We have stars, but we also have guys who back us up. That’s why I’m pretty sure we’re going to go out and win team state, too.”

Logan Staver and Ty Harmston lived up to their No. 1 rankings for Le-Win by winning at 182 and 195. Staver gave up the opening takedown before pinning Byron’s Nick Elsbury in 2:50.

“After that first takedown, I got a little worried. I thought he must have really scouted me good,” Staver said. “But after I got an escape and a takedown, I knew I was back in control. It’s great to win by a pin, especially coming from this sectional, the toughest in the state.”

Harmston had an even more dominant final, pinning Shawn Skinner of Rock Falls, ranked No. 2 in the state, in 3:41.

“I’m the kind of guy, I almost feel like I lose if I don’t pin my kid,” Harmston said. “And he pinned my teammate and workout partner (Staver) last year, so that gave me extra motivation. I wanted to pin him as fast as I possibly could.”

Harmston could have lost when he was called for a slam. If Skinner had been unable to keep wrestling, he would have won by default, but Skinner continued.

“I was a little worried,” Harmston said. “Last year in the semifinals, I wrestled a kid from Rock Falls and the exact same thing happened. But both of them did the right thing and got up and kept wrestling. I’ve got a lot of respect for that.”

Also advancing to state were: Le-Win’s Austin McPeek (third at 138) and T.J. Knutson (fourth at 152) and West Carroll’s Jacob Klein (fourth at 182).